On 30 June 2018 the brigade was formed inMykolaiv Oblast.[3] It is part ofOperational Command South. During the year 189th Battalion and brigade headquarters held a seven-day exercise which involved 612 soldiers.[1]
From 28 August to 6 September 2019 255 soldiers from 191st Battalion were involved in an exercise.[4] From 19 to 26 September 2020 another exercise took place, involving 532 soldiers.[5][6]
On 1 March 2022, Russian forces advanced into theMykolaiv Oblast.[7] The 190th Battalion defendedBashtanka from a large column of Russian military vehicles,[8][7] forcing the Russians to retreat in the direction ofYavkyne [uk] andPisky [uk].[7]
During 2-3 March, the 187th Battalion took part in thebattle of Voznesensk, where they lost eight soldiers.[9][7]
On 14 April, the 206th Battalion ofKyiv's241st Territorial Defense Brigade was transferred to the command of the 123rd Brigade, in order to strengthen the defense of the city of Mykolaiv. The 206th's 1st Company took up the defense of the villages of Halytsynove andPrybuzke [uk], while its 3rd Company was deployed to the southern outskirts of the city near the village ofUkraiinka.[7]
On 28 April, the 123rd Brigade's consolidated assault company was transferred to the command of the59th Motorized Brigade, and took part in combat operations east of Mykolaiv near the villages ofShevchenkove,Kotliareve [uk] andZelenyi Hai [uk]. Starting on 29 June, units of the 123rd held a section of the front line near the villages ofNovohryhorivka [uk] andLiubomyrivka.[7] On 2 September, elements of the brigade's 186th Battalion were assigned to the 59th Motorized Brigade and took part in operations near the village ofTernovi Pody.[10] On 5 September, units of the 186th were assigned to a section of the front line in the village ofNovopoltavka [uk] in the Kherson Oblast.[10]
On 14 October, the brigade received its battle flag.[11]
In January 2023, several of the brigade's battalions took part in combat operations onVelykyi Potomkin island andBilohrudove island in theDnieper River delta near the city ofKherson.[7] In June 2023, elements of the brigade's 188th Battalion repelled a Russian assault on the same islands.[7]
On 2 October 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Ihor Hryb, the commander of the brigade's 186th Battalion died nearVuhledar. Several Ukrainian journalists claimed that the commander committed suicide after the battalion refused orders and left their positions near Vuhledar without permission.[12][13] On 5 October the command of the brigade announced that the circumstances of Ihor Hryb's death are currently being investigated, and an internal investigation is underway.[14]
On 4 October, about a hundred soldiers of the 187th Battalion of the 123rd Brigade held a rally in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region. The soldiers were protesting to draw attention to the lack of training and weapons to participate in combat operations in the Donetsk sector. All of them refused to perform a combat mission and went AWOL.[15] One officer of the battalion claimed that the entire brigade had no rotations in 3 years.[16]
The brigade's emblem shows a silver watchful deer with gold antlers, holding a spear. In Cossack times, this image was used as a seal for theBuhohardivska Palanka [uk], a territorial district within the organization ofNova Sich, which is today in the Mykolaiv Oblast.[26][27]
.svg)
Ukraine
Armed Forces of Ukraine
Territorial Defense Forces
Mykolaiv Oblast.svg)
186th Territorial Defense Battalion (Pervomaisk)[17]MUN А7352[18]
187th Territorial Defense Battalion (Voznesensk)MUN А7353[19]
188th Territorial Defense Battalion (Ochakiv)MUN А7354[20]
189th Territorial Defense Battalion[21] (Mykolaiv)MUN А7355[1][22]
190th Territorial Defense Battalion (Bashtanka)MUN А7356[23]